Oct. 15, 2006

Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out

60 Minutes' Ed Bradley Talks To The Accused Lacrosse Players, Who Have Never Before Been Interviewed

  • Play CBS Video Video More From The Duke Players

    Only On The Web: The three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping an exotic dancer talk to Ed Bradley about the pain and grief caused by the case and the ensuing media attention.

  • Video Brodhead On The Duke Case

    Duke University President Richard Brodhead speaks to Ed Bradley about how the school handled the alleged rape case involving three Duke lacrosse players.

  • Video Duke Lacrosse Players Speak

    "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley talks to the Duke lacrosse players accused of raping an exotic dancer. They profess their innocence and discuss how the case has put their future plans on hold.

    • David Evans, left, Reade Seligmann, center, and Collin Finnerty

      David Evans, left, Reade Seligmann, center, and Collin Finnerty  (CBS)

    • Kim Roberts

      Kim Roberts  (CBS)

    • The accuser says the alleged rape happened inside this house in Durham, N.C.

      The accuser says the alleged rape happened inside this house in Durham, N.C.  (CBS/AP)

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  • Photo Essay Duke Lacrosse Case

    Duke lacrosse players were charged with sexual abuse in high profile case that caused tension in Durham, N.C.

  • Timeline Duke Lacrosse Allegations

    Track events in the case of team members accused of sexually abusing a dancer hired to perform at a team party.

(CBS) 
She says she then walked out of the house, went to her car and left "Precious" alone inside the house for about five to 10 minutes – the first of two times Roberts says the dancers had been separated all night. Could a rape have occurred during that time? If so, Roberts says she saw no sign of it when "Precious" joined her in her car.

"At that point, did she give you any reason to believe that she had been assaulted in any way?" Bradley asks.

"No," Roberts replies.

"Did she at any point that night say anything about being in pain or of having been hurt in any way?" Bradley asks.

"She wasn't – she obviously wasn't hurt or, 'cause she was fine. She wouldn't have went back in the house if she was hurt. She's was fine," Roberts says.

"And, according to the statement that you made to the police, she told you she wanted to go back inside the house at that point. What did she say?" Bradley asks.

"There's more money to be made," Roberts tells Bradley.

Roberts and "Precious" did in fact go back inside the house. Kim says they were separated for a second time for about five to 10 minutes.

But here is where their stories take a dramatically different turn: "Precious" says in her written statement to police that Roberts, who as you may recall went by the stage name "Nikki," was actually present when "Precious" says she was attacked by three men who called themselves Brett, Adam and Matt. When Bradley asked Roberts about this in the interview, she seemed surprised and confused that "Precious" would make such an assertion.

"In the police statement she describes the rape in this way. 'Three guys – three guys grabbed Nicky,' that's you. 'Brett, Adam, and Matt grabbed me. They separated us at the master bedroom door while we tried to hold on to each other. Brett, Adam, and Matt took me into the bathroom.' Were you holding on to each other? Were you pulled apart? Is that true?" Bradley asks Roberts.

"Nope," she replies.

"Yeah. Her statement continues. 'I heard Nicky on the other side of the door. And when Adam opened the door she rushed in and helped Adam to get me dressed.' so she's saying that you helped one of the rapists," Bradley says.

"She was never undressed as far as I remember. As far as I remember, she was never undressed," Roberts says.

And, Roberts insists, she never assisted anyone in a rape, nor did she ever offer to engage in sexual acts with "Precious" and one of the alleged rapists, which "Precious" alleges in a statement she made that night.

"And in her written statement 'Brett asked Nikki for a threesome with me' and she says you replied, quote, 'We need to stay and make more money,'” Bradley says.

"I just don’t remember that conversation happening ever," Roberts says.

Asked if it could have happened, Roberts says, "No, I did not say those words."

"She goes on to say that when both of you went back in the house, she says, 'They were excited and angry. They were screaming, 'We’re going to f you black bitches,'" Bradley says.

"I just don’t remember it that way at all," Roberts says.

Those are not the only questionable statements "Precious" has made in this case. She has given different accounts about the number of men who raped her, saying at one point that night it was “five guys,” “three men,” and at one point, she said "no one had forced her to have sex.”

A photograph, taken at 12:31 a.m., shows "Precious" standing outside the back door of the house. The team captains told police she was pounding at the door around that time, but they wouldn’t let her in. Seven minutes later, at 12:38 a.m., she was lying face down on the porch, apparently passed out. At 12:41 am, she was being helped to Roberts' car by some of the players and the night appeared to be coming to an end.

At that point, Roberts says "Precious" was "out of it."

Asked if "Precious" was conscious at that point, Roberts says, "I don't know. I'd say she was semi-conscious because she was helping them along in the walking process to get to the car."

As Roberts prepared to drive away with "Precious," she described one ugly final encounter with a lacrosse player who made a rude comment about Roberts' appearance.

Asked how she responded, Roberts says, "I don't know if I can say that on 60 Minutes.

"I called him a little [expletive] white boy," she recalls laughing. "And how he couldn't get it on his own and had to pay for it. So, he was mad. And it ended with him callin' me the n-word. And it echoed, so you heard n….. once, and then you heard, n….., n….., n….. .

Roberts acknowledges that her taunting provoked that remark but tells Bradley, "But when I think about it again, I say he could’ve said black girl. You know what I mean? He could’ve said black girl. He didn’t have to go that route."

A neighbor also told police he overheard a player yelling in Roberts' direction “Thank your grandfather for my cotton shirt.”

Continued



Produced By Michael Radutzky and Tanya Simon
© MMVI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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by dkaffinated September 18, 2009 2:55 PM EDT
This prosecuter should be imprisoned for as long as each man would have been. say 25 years. how many lives has he ruined? i say make every cop prosecutor attorney congressman everyone that can affect our lives be subject to regular drug/ hair sample testing and polygraphs tand be made public info. lets weed out the scum. maybe nobody left to work but then most dont work anyway.
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by cbsmoron1 October 22, 2006 9:42 PM EDT
hello
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by cbsmoron1 October 22, 2006 9:38 PM EDT
this is a test.
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by cbsmoron1 October 22, 2006 9:37 PM EDT
this is a test.
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by cbsmoron1 October 22, 2006 9:37 PM EDT
hello
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by acccbb October 22, 2006 8:42 PM EDT
Justice 58
Since you are the person who started the blog "Justice for 2 sisters", it is certainly not a surprise that no matter how much evidence that supports that this was a false accusation, you refuse to accept it. I have read your posts since the beginning of this case, and it is obvious you have no interest in justice. You want to punish innocent white men because you are a racist plain and simple. By the way, is the site going to be renamed to be called "justice for 1 sister"? As I understand it, you no longer believe the "other" sister Kim is telling the truth.
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by leilni_in_tx October 22, 2006 6:58 PM EDT
Either Mike Nifong is the most professionally incompetent DA ever elected in the history of american jurisprudence or this has got to be one of the worst cases of prosecutorial misconduct anyone's seen anywhere in the US in the last decade.

It's quite obvious to anyone who's followed the case that he either knew or should have known that the accusations could not be substantiated, but he pursued charges he knew were bogus solely because doing so would help him with a segment of the electorate in a close primary election. That's the textbook definition of corruption. Nifong belongs in jail.

Ultimately the taxpayers of Durham are going to have to pay through the nose for redress & recompense to the victims (the 3 players) for their crooked DA's gross criminal malfeasance.

And Duke U's administration isn't much better. Nobody in their right mind now could even think of sending their children to that school after seeing how these obviously innocent students were thrown to the wolves by Duke's president for the sake of political expediency. Shameful.
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by justice58 October 22, 2006 4:48 PM EDT
Tortmaster

"unfounded charges"??? are you kidding me.
The point is...I have been following this case from the VERY beginning. My view has not and will not change about the victim in this case, despite the one sided reporting. Again, Ed Bradley, you need to redeem yourself for this onesided view of so called journalism.
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by tortmaster October 22, 2006 2:16 AM EDT
Mr. Ed Bradley followed the evidence and told the truth, and for that reason he will be remembered as a giant and a just man.

There is no way to tell two sides of a one-sided story. No DNA match, no trace evidence, airtight alibi, inconsistent stories of no rape, rape by 5, rape by 0, rape by 2, rape by 3, then the accuser identifies 4 as her 3 rapists, and on and on....

There is literally no credible evidence, not a scrap, to suggest that a rape ever occurred. That, and prosecutorial misconduct were the stories.

Please read up on the case before leveling unfounded charges against an honorable man.
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by justice58 October 22, 2006 12:58 AM EDT
I am a fan of Ed Bradley and have watched him for years. As I watched his segment on the duke rape scandal, I was shocked to see such one sided journalism. Ed Bradley should be ashamed. Where was the accuser's side? The investigation WAS not thorough and NEITHER was it complete. Some duke supporters have described the investigation as "true journalism" and I beg to differ. True journalism is telling both sides of the matter. I have always respected Ed Bradley in his reporting and he needs to give his viewers the same treatment. The truth should be told and it doesn't matter whose toes is stepped on. Ed Bradley, you need to redeem yourself. Shame on you!
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by as28801 October 20, 2006 11:14 PM EDT
I can't imagine how scary that is for you men. Good thing women only have to worry about being raped- which by the way, regardless of what this police officer has told you, happens constantly!
Again, this is not the issue. But thank you for proving my point. Because of this DA, now, men like you will have a case to point to in order to doubt women who come forward with a legitimate claim of being raped.
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by verve2006-2009 October 20, 2006 8:42 PM EDT
This case is yet another example of the fact that our legal system acts as a mechanism for any woman at any time to falsely accuse any man at any time of rape with a very strong potential of sending him to prison. Are all women capable of this? No. But it doesn't matter because it is impossible to determine which women are capable of this. If it was only one in a million, that is still too many for me or any man. Living in a world where a man can be falsely and so casually accused of the most serious of crimes and sent to prison on the whims of a fickle, spiteful individual, i.e., a woman, is like the most horrifying episode of The Twilight Zone that even Rod Serling could not even imagine.
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by verve2006-2009 October 20, 2006 7:24 PM EDT
Wow! What planet are you from? Here's an excerpt from an interview with a police officer recently.

"When asked what the police%u2019s biggest problem is when dealing with rape allegations she replied that the biggest problem was the enormous time the police waste chasing down false allegations. When asked to put a number on the percentage of false claims she replied %u201C95%.%u201DMost, she said, fell into definite patterns that she as a police officer had given names to.

1. Jilted lover syndrome.

This is where consensual *** has taken place followed by an argument, which results in a parting of the ways for the two former sweethearts. Feeling angry, the female half of the love duo decides to take revenge.

2. One night stand syndrome.

A woman goes out on the tiles for the evening. She meets up with a man and ends up back at his place where she indulges in consensual ***. By the end of the night she has fallen in love with her new Romeo but, alas, her love is not returned. She goes to the police claiming that she did not give consent.

3. Female caught in the act syndrome.

Hubby bursts in and catches his wife cheating on him with her boyfriend; she claims that she is being raped to cover up her own wrongdoing.

Overwhelming evidence shows that some women will lie about serious matters for the pettiest of reasons."
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by as28801 October 20, 2006 5:50 PM EDT
... And case in point (verve2006). In principle, let me repeat, the DA has acted horribly here and he is the one who should be disbarred and reprimanded. As for women falsely accusing men of rape, you are way off. It is the most underreported crime. How can you take this case to make such a broad generalization. It is very hard for women to come forward when they have been raped. And furthermore, it is very hard to convict rapists. So don't worry, women are raped every hour, everywhere and no one sits in jail because of it. And hopefully our Country will never follow in the footsteps of others as far as handling rape cases as you suggest.
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by verve2006-2009 October 20, 2006 5:30 PM EDT
There is a bigger story here and that is the subject of false accusations of rape running rampant in this country. Let's pray that once this men are in fact found innocent, that this high profile case will draw the necessary attention to this legal insanity of women destroying men's lives out of childish spite or financial gain. In China there is a basic rule of law that says if someone falsely accuses someone of a crime, the false accuser must face the punishment that would have been given to the accused- I want to see the law drastically altered in the U.S. to where women like these serve 10-20 years of incarceration, and are registered as *** offenders for life, and since these men would be serving time in a men's facility, make women like this one serve their time in a men's prison as well, and maybe then they will understand what rape really is. I guarantee the rate of false accusations would drop to zero overnight.
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by shellee_rae October 20, 2006 5:01 PM EDT
I am very grateful to Ed Bradley for a very thorough and complete investigation: it is the first true journalism I have seen related to this case. He wiped away all of the progaganda that has been deluging the airwaves about who is exactly guilty, "her" or "them." All of this leads me to the basic question, with the evidence and facts in the case, how does the DA have enough evidence to have them charged or tried?
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by as28801 October 20, 2006 4:26 AM EDT
The Assistant District Attorney in this case has ruined the lives of many because he is a political opportunist. It is obvious how he has done so regarding the three accused. The rest of the team has suffered as well, as far as reputations being blemished to say the least. The alleged victim was used as a means to his case for political purposes. He spoon fed her from the beginning of the case. As for the community of Durham, he is using it as well because he hit a soft spot. He attached this nonsense rape case to a real and valid issue for them (the racial tension) which now will lose weight because his case is bogus. The permanent damage done is to women nationwide who get raped. We have worked so hard to facilitate women who want to come forward with rape allegations. It takes such courage and strength. Now, this liar and unethical politician has given the public a case to cite in doubting every woman's rape case.
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by savelax October 20, 2006 3:23 AM EDT
this whole case is egregious, the stripper made false accusations as did some of the accused, the accused were doing it to protect themselves, and there future. The accusations affected more than just this lacrosse team, throw out the social garbage that any minority will pull out, she and her false accusations have driven a knife into the reputations of lacrosse players across the country, id like to say thanks to her and her greedy D.A. for poisoning the sport of lacrosse.
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by sunkist01 October 19, 2006 12:17 AM EDT
The punishment definitely didn't fit the "crime". No wonder Finnerty is frightened of the results of a Durham trial. Posted by acccbb at 12:28 AM : Oct 18, 20

You are no legal eagle, Finnerty is a time bomb waiting to exploit. He should have been charged with federal charges, he plead guilty in DC, no body is that unlucky and wealthy!

Please, he probation program is based on him not getting into any legal troubles, since the dipstick plead guilty in DC, his probation and deal can be thrown out. Finnerty has more to lose than any of them, perhaps he will go to jail in their place. The sooner the better!
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by broken_heart-2009 October 18, 2006 7:24 PM EDT
Please can we just drop the dang case! It's getting pretty old! He said this, she experienced that. Let's just charge them all for false accusations!
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